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MVOC's vs Mold Allergy

ebethc

Senior Member
Messages
1,901
I tested negative for mold allergy (blood and skin prick).. but I know that mold and dust and pollution make me sick... I have a few theories:

1st Hypothesis: The allergy tests are wrong because my body is too sick to make antibodies

PROS for this hypothesis:
- I have very low NK cells
- I had a bad virus in 2001, and even though I tested negative for mono, the doctor said he's seen enough mono to know that I had mono... So maybe my body couldn't make antibodies for mono??
- I am hypothyroid, and even though I don't have thyroid antibodies, I've always suspected that I have Hashi's

CONS for this hypothesis
- My allergist and ENT doctors think that any particle irritates my airways... It's not an allergic reaction per se, but an irritation caused by particles.. That induces cytokines and brain fog, so it feels like allergies. Anti histamines hardly ever work on me, so I think their theory could work

2nd Hypothesis: It's not actually the mold spores that are the problem, but the toxic gas that the mold releases that causes my problems..

- I'm just learning about VOC's, so I don't have a lot of comments, but I think I may be on to something because I've always been very sensitive to smells.. when I use bleach to clean (which is very rare) I need a lot of rest the next day... I'm really affected by pollution; when the index is even on the high end of "GREEN" I can feel it..


The only place I've ever felt GREAT is Durango, CO, which is high altitude/low humidity, and no pesticides (rural but no agriculture), and no pollution.... Surely there was some pollen in the air (it was june), but I don't think it was the worst pollen season..

What do you think.. Hypothesis 1 vs Hypothesis 2?
 

ebethc

Senior Member
Messages
1,901
@ebethc I've jsut been watching mast cell expert Dr. Theo Theoharides June webinar re mast cells. He makes a strong connection to mold around 40". I found this presentation fascinating, illuminating, linking many of the symptoms we experience to mast cell issues.
http://www.chronicpainpartners.com/...ders-by-dr-theoharis-theoharides-june-2-2015/

@ahmo

I read thru the deck and it seems very broad.... there was no tx plan, just a lot of information... he casts a wide net, so he's connecting MCS w everything
 

ahmo

Senior Member
Messages
4,805
Location
Northcoast NSW, Australia
It was really a discussion about the wide-spread involvement of mast cells in many of our symptoms, including MCS. So, the treatment implications would include substances to calm, stabilize mast cells. Of course, getting away from the source is imperative. In addition to the pharmaceuticals he mentions, there are natural substances, as royal jelly, for mast cell stabilization.
 
Messages
5
I tested negative for mold allergy (blood and skin prick).. but I know that mold and dust and pollution make me sick... I have a few theories:

1st Hypothesis: The allergy tests are wrong because my body is too sick to make antibodies

PROS for this hypothesis:
- I have very low NK cells
- I had a bad virus in 2001, and even though I tested negative for mono, the doctor said he's seen enough mono to know that I had mono... So maybe my body couldn't make antibodies for mono??
- I am hypothyroid, and even though I don't have thyroid antibodies, I've always suspected that I have Hashi's

CONS for this hypothesis
- My allergist and ENT doctors think that any particle irritates my airways... It's not an allergic reaction per se, but an irritation caused by particles.. That induces cytokines and brain fog, so it feels like allergies. Anti histamines hardly ever work on me, so I think their theory could work

2nd Hypothesis: It's not actually the mold spores that are the problem, but the toxic gas that the mold releases that causes my problems..

- I'm just learning about VOC's, so I don't have a lot of comments, but I think I may be on to something because I've always been very sensitive to smells.. when I use bleach to clean (which is very rare) I need a lot of rest the next day... I'm really affected by pollution; when the index is even on the high end of "GREEN" I can feel it..


The only place I've ever felt GREAT is Durango, CO, which is high altitude/low humidity, and no pesticides (rural but no agriculture), and no pollution.... Surely there was some pollen in the air (it was june), but I don't think it was the worst pollen season..

What do you think.. Hypothesis 1 vs Hypothesis 2?
It was really a discussion about the wide-spread involvement of mast cells in many of our symptoms, including MCS. So, the treatment implications would include substances to calm, stabilize mast cells. Of course, getting away from the source is imperative. In addition to the pharmaceuticals he mentions, there are natural substances, as royal jelly, for mast cell stabilization.
 
Messages
5
I had had mold allergies in the past - 2 yrs ago they came back along with CFS (I didn't know that then) and started up the menieres (inner ear disease) I have had most of my life. I went to several immunologists and got RAST and skin prick tests which showed no allergies. But I knew. The problem is that you have to know which molds you are allergic to. I finally found a researcher who was studying allergies as a possible cause of menieres. She found that the majority of people with menieres had allergic reactions (actually in the inner ear) and it did not take as much of an allergenic response as normal to set everything off. She had begun testing them intradermally and then their allergic reactions showed. I found an allergist who was willing to do the same for me, and I showed clear reactions to 2 molds. Getting shots now.
 

ebethc

Senior Member
Messages
1,901

"getting away from the source" is tricky... e.g., Durango is a hotspot for methane now (fracking) and the EPA dumped wasted in the river by accident... There's no perfect place, so I do my best..

quercetin is great, though, and I always have some on hand